March 30, 2008

The Young Communist League of Canada joins with the Free MumiaCommittee in denouncing the recent ruling of the injustice againstMumia Abu-Jamal whose case exposes the racist death penalty, thebrutality of the police, and the unjust imprisoning of politicalactivists in the United States.

At this important time, we join with all those demanding his immediaterelease. We call upon all democratic and progressive youth in Canadato join with the Free Mumia campaign.

(YCL-LJC CEC, March 28)

March 24, 2008

On the occasion of the International Day for the Elimination of Racismon March 21 2008, the YCL joins with all those demanding an end toracist wars, environmental destruction, inequality, and attacks oncivil and democratic rights.

March 21 marks the anniversary of the 1960 Sharpeville Massacre, whenpolice used low-flying jet fighters and armored vehicles to attack anon-violent demonstration of over 7,000 South Africans againstApartheid's passbook laws. The attack killed 67 people and wounded 186protestors.

Racism in Canada

Being born non-white is not a crime. But in Canada, it usually meansyou are sentenced to a lifetime of systemic racial oppression.

This cannot be understood as simply a matter of individual prejudice.In the grand sweep of our country's history, genocide, colonization,national oppression, racism, sexual assault and sexism, discriminationagainst immigrants, homophobia and other forms of oppression have andcontinue to play a major role in the functioning of Canadiancapitalism.

The ideology of sexism and racism are also used as a rationale andenforcer of the most brutal polices of our government – includingCanada's participation in coup and occupation of Haiti, the war inAfghanistan, and Canada's support of for the ongoing Israelioccupation and oppression of Palestine.

Equality and youth

There can be no peaceful co-existence with racism and with theviolence it invariably spawns. The ideology racism is not abstract. Itis used to divide and defeat the working class.

We demand respect for and call for the defense of civil and democraticrights, including the elimination of racial profiling by the policeand the civilian and community control of police and prisons; reformto immigration and refuge laws; strengthening and enforcement of hatelaws; support of black-focused schools; and the enacting and enforcingequality in education, employment, healthcare and housing as apriority.

We express our solidarity with the young anti-racist activists, one ofwho was a Communist Party election candidate, whose home was recentlyfire-bombed by neo-Nazis during the Alberta election.

We note with alarm the growing racism campaign against immigrants andracialized communities including 'anti-Islamic racism' or'islamophobia,' a new label for an old form of racism that is todayviciously used to justify oppression and imperialist policy.

We demand an end to the national oppression and racism Aboriginalpeoples (including First Nations Inuit, and Metis peoples) face;immediate action for just and early settlement of Aboriginal landclaims; Treaty implementation; solidarity with Aboriginal strugglesincluding Sun Peaks BC, Grassy Narrows and Caledonia,Ontario; recognition of self-determination and self-government;implementation of the Kelowna accord at a minimum and the signing ofthe UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples by Canada;support of the Native Youth Movement and their opposition to the 2010BC Olympic games profiteering; removing the current federal cap oncore funding to First Nations; and an end to the Canadian government'spolicies of suicide, genocide and assimilation.

We demand that everyone should have the right to dignity, life andjustice, and access to employment, labour rights, education, healthcare, sports, culture, and technology.

Anti-racist struggles

To push back racism and sexism will take a mighty and united struggle.Together we can beat it by uniting all races, ages, and genders.

The capitalists will never end racism on their own because it servestheir economic self-interest. For youth & students, the working classand the people as a whole, racism holds back our demands for a betterfuture. Racism is not an advantage to white youth. There are onlysetbacks when there is no unity.

Sexism, racism, and class exploitation are inseparably linked andimpact all our lives, but through unity and militancy we can defeatthis system of oppression. In the longer term, socialism is a historicnecessity if humanity is to win that battle and reach the stage ofreal democracy. The struggle to defeat racism not a distraction fromthe struggle for socialism, it is part of that struggle, and continuesafter socialism has been won. Socialism creates conditions toprofoundly deepen the anti-racist struggle.

It is not only possible to bring an end to racial oppression andinequality in our country, it is a dire necessity.

The Young Communist League condemns recent rough-handling of peacefulstudent protestors by the campus police of the University of Torontothis past week, and stands with all those condemning this shamefulviolence on campus. We view this as a grave and serious attack on thecivil and democratic rights of the students, and an outrageoussilencing of free speech and academic freedom on campus.

We call upon the University of Toronto President's office to recognizeand implement the students demands, publicly investigate theseactions, drop the motion to increase students' fees from theUniversities upcoming board meeting, and allow dissent on campus!

We also join with Quebec students in condemning the injunction issuedlast week by the University of Quebec At Montreal administration,banning all political protests and leafleting from within 100 metersof campus, threatening $50,000 fines and jail. This follows theNovember 2007 police attack on a peaceful student occupation of Cégepdu Vieux-Montréal (declaring a 'People's University') that left over 50students wounded and 102 students in prison. Student occupations inQuebec have not been terrorized like this for over a decade. Thisdangerous anti-democratic trend shows the fear of ruling-class circlesabout student protest.

Police forces regularly engage in brutal assaults against Aboriginalpeoples, people of colour, immigrants, demonstrators, trade unionists,and so‑called "troublemakers." Across Canada, "investigations" of suchabuse are often sham. But a growing chorus of demands is calling toend this impunity. The Young Communist League supports these demands,as part of a wider range of measures to establish full civilianoversight and control of police forces.

It is particularly alarming that these assaults are being increasinglycarried into our campuses. Freedom of expression and action bystudents and faculty members must be a cardinal principle ofdemocratic, quality education – as is accessibility. Paternalistic andhostile attitudes towards students by administrators and governmentsmust be replaced with full recognition of the right of youth andstudents, including organizing free from administration and outsiderestrictions, interference and any form of police harassment.

Young Communist League joins with all those celebrating InternationalWomen's Day 2008, and saying that much more must be done in the fightfor real equality.

Imperialist policies of war and ecological crisis hit women and girlshardest. The Harper Tories claim Canada fights in Afghanistan to helpwomen, but as suspended young parliamentarian Malalai Joya says,"under the nose of NATO and Canadian troops, the situation of women isgetting worse."

Millions of Canadian women are caught in part-time, temporary, orhome-based jobs difficult for union organizing. Women working fulltime make 70.5% of men. This is worse for women of colour, andAboriginal women. The Federal government refuses to establishuniversal, public child care (yet Quebec has a $7 a day system).Harper instead gives tax breaks to the wealthy, deepening inequality.

Rape, sexual harassment, psychological and emotional abuse, and theregular disappearances of women (especially aboriginal women) is across-Canada crisis. Because of the murders of young women along roadin northern Canada, it has been re-named the "Highway of Tears."

Only capitalists 'win big' from systematic oppression of women. Sexismis a tool of capital to divide working people, therebyweakening it. Some men think they benefit, but their wages, workingconditions, civil and democratic rights are also dragged down. Yet analarming and sophisticated ideological offensive by big business andthe capitalist state tries to convince young women and girls to acceptthis 'double burden' of patriarchy and capitalism as normal, and tellsyoung men and boys that they benefit.

Despite these attacks on women – often affecting youth from childhood– unity and struggle for women's equality gains supporters everyday.Peace and disarmament, pay equity, higher minimum wages, increasedfunding for women' programmes, affordable childcare and housing, andthe elimination of violence against women, are now demanded withcontinued determination by women, youth, labour and other progressivemovements.

The racism in schools, work places, and sports against young CanadianMuslim women who wear head scarves is increasing, but there is alsoresistance – including by the young women team mates who've stood withMuslim athletes ejected from competitions by referees promotinghatred. Canadian movies like "Juno" discourage abortion, and women'sright to control their bodies. But as we celebrate the 20thanniversary of abortion's decriminalization, anti-abortion groups arebeing confronted on campuses. More young people reject ouranti-choice, anti-queer, and anti-women school curriculum. Studentsjoin with teachers, demanding more women faculty, and eliminating allbarriers to public education.

Mobilization, awareness and organization must strengthen on manyfronts in the struggle for women's equality – essential in therevolutionary process for peace, democracy and a socialist Canada. Itis in the interests of all youth to unite on these issues: a betterfuture is to be gained by all. Let's make sure that the future forevery woman and girl is bright!

The heavy hand of administration at McMaster University has displayedan outrageous disregard for freedom of speech and academic freedomalike.

Will McMaster University Provost, Busch-Vishniac, ban Nelson Mandel orArch Bishop Desmond Tutu, who compare Israeli oppression ofPalestinians with that of South African blacks under apartheid, or USex-president Jimmy Carter, who wrote Palestine: Peace Not Apartheid?

The gross inequality experienced daily by Palestinians in Israel andthe occupied territories has appalled the world, – but not ProvostBusch-Vishniac.

Israel has two government-appointed Chief Rabbis. One proposes movingPalestinian citizens of Israel to the Sinai Desert. The other hascalled them rats. In Gaza, a territory smaller than the city ofToronto, with 1.4 million living in an open-air prison under siege,Israel controls the boarders, airspace and even how much UN food aidis allowed in.

The occupied West Bank is divided into sections reachable from eachother only through Israeli check-points and dotted with extremistsettlements of gun toting racist thugs. About half of West Bank iseffectively annexed by a several hundred mile-long and 25 foot highwall, fortified with razor wire and electric fencing.

Since Wednesday, 14 Palestinian civilians, among them eight children,have been killed by Israeli missile strikes.

Just as whites and blacks came together to oppose South AfricanApartheid, so too have Jews and Arabs united to appose the genocide inPalestine. Equating anti-Zionism with anti-Semitism is false.

That an attempt to silence debate on this question, in of all places aUniversity campus, is an glaring attack on the democratic rights ofstudents, freedom of speech, and the principle of academic freedom.Schools should give us both facts and analytical skills. Freedom ofinquiry by students and faculty members must be a cardinal principleof democratic, quality education – as is accessibility. Paternalisticand hostile attitudes towards students by administrators andgovernments must be replaced with full recognition of the right ofyouth and students, including organizing free from administration andoutside restrictions and interference.

Joint statement by the Communist Party and the Young Communist LeagueNovember 22, 2007

The rising number of deaths involving Taser assaults by police has leda wide range of organizations to call for a full federal publicinquiry into the widespread use of this weapon, and a moratorium onits use by police. The Communist Party of Canada and Young CommunistLeague supports these de-mands, as part of a wider range of measuresto establish full civilian oversight and control of police forces.

On Oct. 15, Robert Dziekanski died within seconds of a brutal andunprovoked Taser attack and take-down by four RCMP officers atVancouver airport. His death was the 18th involving police use ofTasers in Canada since July 2003; an estimated 280 similar deaths haveoccurred in the United States since 2001.The Dziekanski case is a tragic illustration of the misuse of thisdeadly weapon. The RCMP and airport au-thorities initially tried to downplay the key role of the police inMr. Dziekanski's tragic death, but the attack was carried out in fullview of witnesses, one of whom filmed the entire episode.

The video footage shows that the officers used their Taser as thefirst option to deal with the Polish immigrant, who had becomeemotionally distressed after being stuck for many hours in theairport. After Tasering Mr. Dziekanski, the police held him down withextreme force and used the weapon a second time, a tactic which endedin his death within seconds.

Some expert observers have correctly stated that the RCMP officersinvolved in this badly botched operation did not follow proper procedures for dealing with a disturbedindividual, particularly since Robert Dziekanski threatened no one.The list of police errors is horrifying: they took no time to assessthe situation or to speak with bystanders who tried to tell them thathe did not speak English; instead of beginning with less forcefulmeasures, the police immediately used the most violent tool available;instead of helping their helpless victim to sit upright after thefirst Taser attack, the police continued their physical assault. Theofficers who committed this assault must face serious criminal chargesfor their utterly reckless actions.There should also be a full investigation of the role of privatisedairport operations in this case.

But this incident is much more than one case of police misconduct orinadequate training. In the name of "law and order" and worshipped bythe corporate media, police forces in reality are a powerful tool ofthe state, imposing the discriminatory prejudices of the ruling classwith impunity. Limited inquiries into the circumstances ofDziekanski's death will never reveal the full scope of the problem.

Police forces regularly engage in brutal assaults against Aboriginalpeoples, people of colour, immigrants, demonstrators, and so-called"troublemakers". Right across Canada, "investigations" of such abuseare con-ducted internally or by other police forces, with the unsurprisingresult that such criminal actions are almost always whitewashed.

It is little wonder that many police officers assume that they can useextreme force in virtually anysituation without facing consequences. There is now a growing chorusof demands to end this impunity. Police officers who commit crimesmust not get a free pass after farcical internal "reviews"; they mustface the same legal standards and processes of investigation as therest of society. The consistent pattern ofracism which underlies much police brutality must be ended, with theswift removal of any officers who commit racist acts or statements.

Not least, there must be a full federal inquiry into the use ofTasers. Instead of relying on company "reports"which deny the deadly effect of this weapon, there must be a complete,unbiased scientific study of Taser deaths, and swift implementation ofthe necessary recommendations. In the interim, Parliament should orderan immediate moratorium on the use of Tasers.

The Young Communist League of Canada - la Ligue de la jeunessecommuniste du Canada salutes the Young Communist League of SouthAfrica, the League of Joe Slovo and Chris Hani, on the occasion ofyour 85th Anniversary!

The YCLSA's dedication to the struggle is know by many. Your work isimpressive and important in the campaigns Education for All, the fightagainst HIV and AIDS, combating unemployment and poverty, overcomingilliteracy, speaking out against human rights abuses as well ascorruption and, together with the ANC Youth league, uniting youthorganizations, articulating the views and interests of the youth.

The YCL-LJC joins with others in condemning the recent attack andattempt to murder your National Secretary, Comrade Buti Manamela.Imperialism and reaction may try by cowardly terrorist methods, butthey can not stop the future!

The mass democratic movement of the peoples, including the youth, ofSouth Africa has inspired the world with your overthrow of theApartheid regime. The destruction of Apartheid is especially importantfor the peoples of Canada. Many years ago, a delegation from the SouthAfrican ruling class visited our country to study the Canadian "IndianAct" and "Reserve system" and national oppression of the Aboriginalpeoples, in order to develop the special type of racist and nationaloppression of the Black people of South Africa that became Apartheid.In the 1960s, 70s and 80s, across Canada, people rallied against thatsystem, demanding in solidarity the end of Apartheid.

The YCL-LJC was founded in the same year as the YCLSA, 1922. We alsobegan our re-organization in the same year as well, 2003. This year wecelebrated our 24th Central Convention, and our 85th anniversary.

We stand with you in your struggle to consolidate and take thevictories of your democratic revolution further, fighting for a betterlife for all, and to smash capitalism and win a socialist SouthAfrica!

The continued occupation of Afghanistan by Canadian troops has beenrepeatedly rejected by the majority of the Canadian people. Dailyreports in the media about Afghanistan tell of bloodshed, rising childmortality rates, and war-lord governments, and higher casualties bythe Canadian military.

The cost to Canada: seventy-two dead Canadians, a bill of $1.3 millionevery day according to CBC News, and another people's blood on ourhands. The cost to Afghanistan: over 5,000 dead this year alone, and asociety in ruins with over 70% unemployment.

We cannot 'bomb the Afghan people into liberation.' The war isworsening the situation. Continued military intervention inAfghanistan will not make anything better.

The occupation of Afghanistan, and Iraq, is imperialist. Imperialismand the war in Afghanistan are both driven by a cancer-like hunger forprofits and domination of markets. Imperialism has no interest in therights of the people or in the environment.

Canada's foreign policy should be independent, and based on peace anddisarmament, not US wars. The money that is spent on war should beput towards the future of this country – eliminating tuition fees,establishing public, universal and accessible childcare, building moreschools, homes, hospitals, public transit, parks and recreationfacilities, and good paying jobs.

Instead of militarizing society through aggressive army recruitment inhigh schools and military research in universities, we shouldguarantee a real, sustainable future for youth.

The question is forcing the government to have the political will toimplement our agenda, and not the big business agenda. This questioncan be answered through strong, broad public pressure – and if thosein power won't carry out a people's agenda for peace and democracythey should get out of the way and let the people rule, not thecapitalists.

The Young Communist League of Canada demands that the HarperConservative government set the date for troop withdrawal. Troops OutNow! We call upon all progressive, revolutionary and democratic youthto join the Peace Protests on October 27 2007 and continue to showvisible resistance to this dirty war, and solidarity with alloppressed people's of the world.

As a bold and strong range of Pride celebrations happen across Canadathis summer, there is much to celebrate in the struggle for fullequality -- and many more miles to go!

The summer months are the time for Pride celebrations because on June27, 1969, an historic uprising occurred at the Stonewall Inn in NewYork City. The uprising, in response to bar raids and attacks by thepolice, was led by working-class gay, lesbian and transgender people.It became a rallying point for LGBTQ people in the United States,Canada and around the world.

Today LGBTQ struggles are a key part of the movement to defeat therotten right-wing corporate agenda, beginning with the Harper Tories.The recent historic gains for same-sex marriage rights in Canada,Europe and several U.S. states point the way to a future in which thechoice of family forms will be freed from economic pressures andsocial norms which make the patriarchal nuclear family the only"acceptable" model in capitalist society.

We have won a victory in the marriage courts. Yet enemies of equalityare now calling public schools their next "battleground". AcrossCanada, hatred against queer and questioning students, andheterosexist biases in curricula and attitudes, are still prevalent inmany schools. Queer-bashing must end. We urge all school trustees,administrators and teachers to follow the example of boards which haveshown leadership on this issue by supporting legislation in schoolsthat will urge school boards to play a leading role in endingdiscrimination by teaching tolerance for LGBTQ students.

This year marks the 26th year of the HIV/AIDS epidemic. Today,millions of people are still denied access to life-saving drugs andmedical help because of profit-driven drug corporations. In ourschools, in our workplaces and in our streets, LGBTQ people are facedwith discrimination, hatred and violence. Adoption rights are notguaranteed.

The number one public enemy is the Harper Conservatives, the happyprisoners of homophobia. Their dangerous goal, together with manyLiberals, is to turn Parliament into a weapon against reproductiverights and LGBTQ equality, serving the corporate interests which aimto destroy democratic rights, roll back gender equality, gut socialprograms, privatize all public assets, and splinter the public schoolsystem, all in their drive for profits.

Total liberation of oppressed sexualities and all people will comealong with the liberation of the working class from capitalism and asocialist Canada. We stand in solidarity with our LGBTQ sisters andbrothers in the fight for full equality. We demand an end to theviolence and discrimination against LGBTQ people in our schools,workplaces and communities. We will be marching, rallying andcelebrating this summer in Pride Parades across the country. We inviteall working class youth to join us in the struggle for LGBTQ equality.

Joint statement by the Young Communist League USA and the YoungCommunist League of Canada – La Ligue de la Jeunesse Communiste duCanada.August 2007

On August 20-21, at the invitation of the Canadian government, theleaders of the United States, Mexico and Canada are meeting behindclosed doors at Chateau Montebello, Quebec, for the third AnnualSecurity and Prosperity Partnership Leaders Summit. US PresidentGeorge W Bush, Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper, MexicanPresident Felipe Calderon will be joined by thirty powerful CEOs fromthe US, Canada, and Mexico who make up the key advisory body of theSPP, an all-business group called the North American CompetitivenessCouncil.

The Young Comunist League USA, and the Young Communist League ofCanada - La Ligue de la Jeunesse Communiste du Canada, joins with theyoung peoples in Canada, the US and Mexico in resisting the SPP.Thirteen US State governments have already passed resolutionsdirecting Congress to drop out of the SPP: Idaho, Georgia, Arizona,Missouri, Illinois, Oregon, Montanna, South Carolina, Oklahoma, Utah,South Dakota, Tennessee, Washington, and Virginia. The pan-Canadianpeace-loving and democratic forces, including the Canadian LabourCongress, have denounced the SPP. This shows that people of allcountries believe unchecked corporate power has dangerous implicationsfor the entire continent.

The YCL USA and the YCL LJC of Canada commits to building the broadestpossible unity in opposing the SPP. We call upon all revolutionary anddemocratic youth to join with the growing opposition. We declare ourintent to work together and seek out the participation of theCommunist youth of Mexico.

Described as "NAFTA on Steroids," the victory of the SPP secretnegotiations would make a serious defeat to the popular sovereignty ofthe masses of the Canadian and Mexican peoples. The SPP negotiationsare much broader than the stated trade issues of boarder crossingfacilitation, standards and regulatory cooperation, as well as bulkenergy and water exports. They involve forging a corporateconstitution over the hard-fought for rights of the peoples. Topics onthe table include a single currency, which the head of Bank of Canadahas said "is possible"; integrating Canadian military units muchfurther into US command; and the NAFTA superhighway corridor – aseveral hundred miles wide corridor including rail lines, freeways,and pipelines from Mexico to the Canadian boarder, like a giant strawsucking resources into the belly of imperialism.

The anti-democratic nature of these meetings is also seen in therecent refusal by the US Army, Royal Canadian Mounted Police, andSureté du Quebec, for a local civil society organization to rent acommunity hall in the area. Château Montebello was also the host forthe 1983 NATO Nuclear Planning Group, and the 1981 G7 Economic Summit.The talks are going on un-surrendered Mohawk land, near the Kanesatakereserve, site of the famous resistance of the Mohawk people at Okaagainst the Canadian military in 1990.

The Security and Prosperity Partnership will subordinate Mexican,Canadian and US state and local governments to the economic, militaryand political interests of big capital's world domination strategy.The SPP agreement occurs in period when imperialism is increasingexploitation, as well as the use of war and repression in order tomaintain and expand markets. The development of the SPP, the questionof US and Canadian imperialism's objectives in this agreement, and itsimpact on the youth of Canada, the US and Mexico requires furtheranalysis and investigation.

Since the pretense of the tragic of September 11th, 2001, the world'simperialist forces, with the United States government in thefrontline, have undertaken an aggressive and despicable offense,indiscriminately trying to remove all obstacles on their way toconsolidate their global power. Canada, which is both a fullimperialist power and a junior ally and advisor to US imperialism, hasgone forward with this agenda and the SPP re-affirms the betrayal ofthe peoples and nations of Canada, including the dominantEnglish-speaking nation, by the Canadian bourgeois. Thisaggressiveness is by no means accidental. It stems from imperialism'sstructural incapability to come up with solutions to the needs of thevast majority of the world's population and at the same time toperpetuate its existence.

On the other side are the youth with the people, including theworkers. The youth make up one of the most progressive, radical, anddynamic forces of society. Continuously they are important catalyticforces for social transformation and progress. For the ruling class itis essential the people not to organize, question, think, discuss orreflect and know its defeats – that are the victories of the workersand people. Two main trends are confronting each other: on the oneside, imperialism with its interventionist and war policies and, onthe other the peoples who struggle for their inalienable rights. Thetotal failure of neo-liberal policies has been sharply felt in manyparts of the world and is being challenged by the huge ranks of youthand students all over the world.

We commit ourselves to struggle for a world of peace, for a differentsocio-economic system that holds the human being as a center and mainmaker, a system based on social justice, national sovereignty,independence, self-determination, democracy, security, friendship,international solidarity and cooperation. We demand respect for andcall for the defense of human and youth rights, women's rights, sexualand reproductive rights, sustainable development and the environment.We demand that everyone should have access to employment, laborrights, food and water, free, public and qualitative education, healthcare, sports, housing, culture and technology.

We call on youth to join this struggle. We are confident that thevictory will be ours!

The Central Committee of the Young Communist League of Canada met foran all-day meeting on this past month to discuss the league's mainpolitical priorities and campaign strategies around the issues ofpeace, jobs, and international solidarity. Over the next few months,the YCL-LJC will be unveiling new central campaigns of the YCL-LJC.

As directed by the central convention, work has begun on a CubanSolidarity campaign including applying to join the Canadian Network onCuba and helping to build the Che Guevara Work Brigade which takesplace in July. Additionally, the YCL-LJC will be expanding the YCLBritish Columbia's Better Work, Better Wages campaign to a Canada-widelevel, beginning with a fight to increase the minimum wage.

The CC approved the Convention Documents from the 24th YCL CentralConvention, which are currently being formatted and will be releasedto membership. Acting on instructions from the Central Convention, theCC voted in favour of dropping the maple leaf from the YCL-LJC logoout of respect to the multi-national character of the Canadian state.The logo will feature a fist, holding a red flag in a white circle.

The CC heard reports on the student movement, including the results ofthe Canada-wide demonstrations by students for reduced tuition fees.This included an important victory by Nova Scotian students, who facethe highest tuition fees in the country and have won a freeze oftuition fees. Quebec students are mobilizing for a largedemonstration, calling for the elimination of tuition fees, inSeptember. The CC also recognized concern over recent racist andIslamophobic actions at McMaster University, which garnered a quickresponse from students denouncing the incident.

Jason Mann, a member of the CC, was elected to the position of RebelYouth editor. He reported that a new issue of Rebel Youth will bereleased in June, with a focus on International Solidarity.

The CC passed statements in solidarity with the Boycott, Divestmentand Sanctions campaign against the Apartheid State of Israel, and withthe BC and Ontario campaigns to raise the Minimum wage to $10 an hour.

In Vancouver and Toronto the YCL recently helped organize twosuccessful protests demanding the extradition of US CIA-backedcounter-revolutionary and self-described terrorist Posada Carriles toVenezuela. The YCL also distributed hundreds of flyers in places likeSudbury and Niagara Falls about this issue and the case of the CubanFive.

The YCL-LJC's membership is also growing rapidly! In the Prairies, twomembers of the YCL in Manitoba ran in the provincial elections for theCommunist Party. There has been recent YCL activity in Saskatchewanand the CC hopes to build in this area. New clubs have recently beenbuilt in Edmonton and Nanaimo. Plans are underway across the countryto organize regional Summer schools for YCL members.

The CC also heard a report on the recent visit of a comrade to anInternational Women's meeting in Venezuela on the invitation of theYoung Communists of Venezuela, and a report from Stephen Von Sychowskion international correspondence.

Across the land today, Aboriginal peoples together with their allies,are sounding a warning to the trans-national corporations and thegovernment of Canada, a government that is foreign and has no rightfulcontrol over the indigenous peoples!

WARNING BELL:ACTION NEEDED NOW!Canada has a long, shady and brutal history of con artists stealingthe land, resources, and very way of life from the Aboriginal peopleswho have been the protectors of this land. As time goes on the theftof resources continues as oil, gas, hydroelectric power, and rawmaterials are given away to the new powers, the corporate states(trans-national corporations).

Youth are not taught this history in school. Talking about land claimsand acknowledging the rights of First Nations (and all Aboriginalpeoples), which should have happened all along, has never been actedupon in good faith. So after waiting for so long, Aboriginals will bethe first ones to step in the right direction and act.

TIME FOR SOLIDARITYThe actions of June 29th are for self-determination and justice forAboriginal peoples first and foremost but ultimately, justice for allthat live on this land. Why? Because the capitalists sell ourresources south to the USA and all the people are being robbed.

The Young Communist League of Canada is out joining actions todaybecause we know that Aboriginal peoples are on the front lines againstthe evils of big corporate greed that we call imperialism. We standin solidarity.

Aboriginal peoples have been the target of genocidal and systemicracist policies causing unemployment and difficulty in finding a job,police harassment, colonial in-justice, and health problems.

In the cities, Aboriginal people have to make ends meet to pay rent toslumlords who profit from the situation. Paying rent on what was oncetheir own land? Being watched and "looked after" by an imposed policeforce? Kept on small "reserves" that are more like refugee camps?Kept at third world conditions?

These are all the results of an archaic government system, and thepolicies of that system that perpetuate oppressive conditions.

Young people are bombarded with misinformation. The perceptions thatFirst Nations "have everything at the expense of the taxpayer" is adivide and conquer tactic. No, Aboriginals do not get anything free,for they have paid the highest price: their freedom.

TIME TO PAY THE BILLFirst Nations have made treaties that agreed to "share the land," notsign it over. They agreed to move to new homes on reserves. However,they were then locked there, and what reserves they had wererelocated, and reduced in size.

They do not own their land (held in a government "trust") and have nojobs on reserves. Spending for First Nations is close to $8,000 peryear per person. Who really gets it free? The trans-nationalcorporations and the billionaires.

The colonizing business interests have capitalized on the loss ofAboriginal land and resource wealth. Aboriginals "gave an inch" whilecapitalists and racists "took a mile". The time has come for thereturn of what was stolen. Fair is fair. Time to pay the bill.

If there is to be any justice and a peaceful and healthy co-operationbetween nations, self-determination must prevail, and above all,honour in DEED by all concerned.

If the Harper Conservative government does not do what it promised,then it is just another lie (and we know how governments lie no matterwho you are!). Lying is the language of thieves, and certainly doesnot lead to peace and justice.

Please read the statements given out by the Assembly of First Nations,and other Aboriginals groups, because one's best voice is one's own.The Young Communist League adds its voice to those taking a standtoday, June 29th, because justice must prevail. In unity is strength.With the Communist Party, the YCL demands action to further this aim:

- Recognize the Métis as an Aboriginal people.- Support prompt land claims settlements, including Aboriginal rightsover resources.- Campaign for a new, equal and voluntary partnership of nations inCanada in a democratically made constitution.

Every Canadian citizen who is not a member of the ruling class, whodoes not have a vested interest in exploitation and robbery, shouldtake a good look in the mirror. Looking back are the First Nationsallies with the same needs: access to education, jobs, housing, publicownership of resources and wealth, the dignity to live as proud humanbeings in peace and friendship.

This is the bottom line and the practical reality of solidarity, unityand social justice. We call upon all the youth and students to standin solidarity with Aboriginal peoples!

Nineteen years ago, the first Canada US Free Trade deal was signed,quickly followed by NAFTA. Today, Canada has lost more than a quartermillion manufacturing jobs. Many more jobs and industries are on theverge of disappearing.

This is the result of the continental 'trade' deals that were neverprimarily about trade, but constitute the corporate constitution thatallows the giant transnational corporations to divide up and controlthe entire hemisphere, eliminate national sovereignty and borders,rolling back workers' social and economic gains, rapidly erodingprecious labour, civil and democratic rights.

For a brief period in the 1960s and '70s Canadian governmentsexercised a degree of independence from the US, creating a publiclyowned oil company PetroCanada, resisting US demands for unlimitedaccess to our hydro-electric power, and creating the ForeignInvestment Review Act to limit further US penetration into theCanadian economy.

The arrival of the neo-liberal Mulroney government in 1984 reversedeven these modest concessions to Canadian sovereignty andindependence, and began reconfiguring Canada in the interests of thetransnational corporations and their goal of ever increasingsuper-profits and an increasing rate of profit.

THEFT OF THE EI FUND, MORE TAX CUTS, & THE 90 CENT DOLLAR -- ANENDURING GIFT FROM THE LIBERALS

Free trade, privatization, de-regulation, tax cuts, and attacks onlabour and democratic rights were continued by the Chretien and Martin(Liberal) governments.

Government fiscal policy has ensured the rise of the Canadian dollar -now at the 90 cent mark, contributing further to the loss ofmanufacturing and secondary industry in Canada, and to the loss of270,000 well-paid, mainly unionized, industrial jobs since 2003.These jobs have been replaced with minimum wage and precariousemployment, mainly in the service sector.

Theft of the EI funds in the 1990s left workers with no protectionfrom plant closures, and today 40% of contributors to EI cannotcollect benefits. Many faced 25% wage cuts, some were forced ontowelfare. EI funds were stolen so that governments could cut taxes forthe very wealthiest individuals and the most profitable corporations.

Job losses, benefit losses, the loss of universal social programs, theabandonment of the 1993 Liberal promise for a universal quality childcare system - all have contributed to the huge gap between the richand the rest that has grown up over the last 25 years - marginalizinghundreds of thousands in dead-end jobs, unemployment, and permanentinsecurity.

No wonder working people and youth are fed up!

THE HARPER TORIES -- MORE OF THE SAME, PLUS BOOT CAMPS, SECURITYCERTIFICATES, AND WAR

· pushing military spending through the roof for the dirty war in Afghanistan;· giving huge tax breaks for the corporations which are making record profits;· eliminating hard-won social programmes for the people;· advancing political, military and economic integration with GeorgeBush's USA through the so-called "Security and Prosperity Partnership"- the pact to destroy what's left of Canadian sovereignty.

A Tory majority would transform Canada - speed-up the dismantling ofMedicare, education, social programs, and manufacturing including theannihilation of productive industrial jobs, wages and workingconditions, and labour rights - using force including police, prisonsand the military if needed, to do it.

The Tories aim to smash the labour movement which they correctlyrecognize as the main obstacle to their far right agenda. They won'tstop. Labour and its allies will have to stop them.

Labour must become the core of mass, escalating public resistanceacross the province and across the country. This agenda must bedefeated.

WE SHOULD DETERMINE WHERE WE WANT TO LIVE AND WORK!

The East Coast needs an industrial strategy to rebuild manufacturingand secondary industry, and a massive public housing constructionprogram. Canada's oil and gas corporations are booming, making recordprofits off the backs of cheap East Coast labour. Government and thecorporations owe it to working youth that they won't be forced toleave home for a decent paying job.

The industrial working class in Cape Bretton has been destroyed -- atoxic sludge disaster is all that remains. State policies gave theupper hand to over-fishing by off-shore corporations of the groundfishery, beggaring offshore and fish plant workers. All the past jobs– farming, fishing, and woodlot producing -- have rapidly disappeared,except in fisheries in the most highly priced species.

What's left? McJobs, Call Centers, casinos and the 'culture industry,'turning us into a zoo. Or you can illegally grow pot. Who is surprisedthat youth are leaving in record levels to the West?

Its time to make full employment a top priority, and legislate a32-hour work week with no loss in take-home pay and no loss in serviceto the public. Ban compulsory overtime, and legislate minimum fourweeks annual paid vacations. Stop government theft of the EI fund; setbenefits at 90% of previous earnings for the duration of unemployment.Put massive investments into rebuilding social programs, publicinfrastructure, and affordable housing. Enact a fair wage policy andfull pay and employment equity for women workers.

RAISE MINIMUM WAGE

The East Coast "reserve army" of jobless workers has pushed downaverage wages. But business can't have it both ways. They can't on onehand want the government to do something to retain workers, and thenkick up a huge stink when we talk about raising minimum wage!

According to the labour force survey, almost one if four workers arepaid less than $10 an hour! Today, a minimum wage job in Nova Scotiaearns workers less than $14,000 a year. Polls show that 77% of peoplepolled in Atlantic Canada thought that the minimum wage should beincreased to $10 an hour. We need to see significant increases inminimum wages, above the poverty line towards $12.00 and $15 an hour.

We need higher wages, a shorter work week with no loss in take homepay (and no reduction in public services), a $15/hour minimum wage,increased pensions and early voluntary retirement at 60, andEmployment Insurance at 90% of previous earnings for all unemployedworkers.

A FUTURE FOR STUDENTS!

Early childhood education is denied us. Over 80% of the 86,000 NovaScotia children of working mothers have no access to a licensed childcare space. Young mothers are getting left in the dirt.

Schools are being short-changed. The McDonald Tories in Nova Scotiahave cut $10 million (over 25% of the budget) from activities relatedto evaluation of courses and programs and assessment of students.Infrastructure funding in the last budget cut schools from $108million to $60 million. The increase in K-12 spending is totallyinadequate, despite on-going concerns about inadequate support foreducation, poor student achievement and inadequate services forstudents with special needs.

In post-secondary education, there has been vague talk about tuitionfreezes and creating less than 600 seats in the Community Collegesystem -- but no details about where these seats will be created, forwhat programs and over what time frame. No details about the ratio ofstudents to support staff and if more support staff will be hired.Nova Scotian universities charge an average of $2,000 more than thenational average.

PEACE AND DISARMAMENT! Canada needs an independent foreign policy ofpeace and disarmament. Withdraw our occupation forces from Afghanistanand Haiti, and support the just demand of the Palestinians for an endto the Israeli occupation. Condemn the U.S. war in Iraq, and preventwar against Iran. Secure our civil, labour, and democratic rights, andeliminate security state laws which target the Muslim and South Asiancommunities, aboriginal peoples, and the civil rights of allCanadians.

NATIONAL EQUALITY! Guarantee equality for First Nations peoples, theMetis and Acadians starting with full recognition of the right toself-determination (up to and including the right to secession) as thebasis for an equal and voluntary partnership of nations.

HOUSING FOR ALL! Take emergency action on the crisis of homelessness.Build 200,000 units of social, cooperative and non-profit housing, byestablishing federal-provincial-municipal land banks and investingover 1% of annual provincial budgets for housing

GUARANTEE EQUALITY RIGHTS Oppose all forms of racism anddiscrimination. Strengthen and enforce affirmative action andemployment equity programs for Aboriginal peoples, people of colour,and people with disabilities. Ban all discrimination based on sexualorientation or gender identity. trengthen laws and enforcement againsthate crimes and neo-fascist groups, and prosecute war criminals livingin Canada.

Our meeting today comes at a time of continued volatility in thepolitical situation. This is reflected in the struggles of the studentand youth movement. In the opinion of the CEC, the analysis andresulting priorities of work adopted by the Fall 2007 meeting of theYCL-LJC Central Committee are still valid – not least our observationthat "it is the mass movements of people's organizations that willembolden the opposition parties to fight the Harper Tories," the mainmenace to Canadian youth today.

Before turning to the main task at hand in this meeting – a deepreaching discussion about Rebel Youth – I would, however, like to makea few brief comments about the current domestic and internationalsituation.

Comrades,

We have all heard the news now that Comrade Fidel Castro has steppeddown and the 7th legislature of the National Assembly of People'sPower has elected Comrade Raul in his place. What the bourgeois mediadoes not say, however, is that this is the culmination of a process ofelections that involved literally millions of Cubans and the CEC hasissued a release to that effect to our members, friends and allies inCuban solidarity.

Fidel's decision above all shows great reason for confidence in thecurrent leadership and government of Cuba, and their capability todirect the Cuban people and their revolution towards more socialgains. One of the resolutions we are brining forward to this meetingis to build the Che Brigade to Cuba for 2008. The bourgeoisiebombardment of propaganda against Cuba around Fidel's resignationmakes that task all the more pressing.

There is more positive news internationally. In Venezuela, it appearsChavez has retreated from his rather adventurous position that allprogressives must unite in one political party, and is now calling fora "patriotic coalition" including the Communists for the 2008elections, to defeat US imperialist interference and forge ahead witha new socialist-oriented future.

In the United States, the Bush agenda is now a dirty word amongst mostyouth. As the YCLUSA has noted, young people are heading to primaryelections in record numbers. Whatever quantitative and qualitativechanges occur in US policy, they will be of grave significance toCanada.

Also since our last meeting, the people of Cyprus have elected aCommunist as President. This is important for progressive forces inthe region, especially considering imperialism's meddling in therecent separation of Kosovo – which led the Serbia people to burn theUS embassy in Belgrade.

Also important for European anti-imperialist and peace-loving forces,especially the youth, is the announcement that the next World Festivalof Youth and Students will be held in Belarus, one of the countriesBush noted along with North Korea and Iran as in need of"democratizing." The 2009 festival will be a topic we must return to,very soon, and by accepting this report, the CC should instruct theCEC to begin this work in earnest.

We note with pride that the YCL-LJC is now a full member of the WorldFederation of Democratic Youth, accepted at the February meeting ofWFDY in Portugal.

Turning now to the situation in Canada.

It is clear that crisis in the American economy which was justemerging at the time of our last meeting has had drastic impacts onCanada. The People's Voice has had good coverage of these developmentsover its past few issues. The majority of economic indicators point toan impending recession, making the continued struggle by youth forbetter jobs and higher minimum wages all the more relevant, whichComrade Stephen will be commenting on.

These demands starkly contrast with the new Tory budget and its muchtouted tax shelter. "In reality, only the well-to-do will be able toseriously take advantage of this new program." (Toronto Star, Feb 272008) On Wednesday Finance Minister Jim Flaherty said we must reducebusiness taxes if it wants to avoid the fallout from a downturn in theU.S. economy.

It is likely the budget will pass, and an election will be averted.But an election is coming and we should, as Canada's Young Pioneersused to say, be "Always Ready." We repeat the comments made by theFall 2007 Central Committee: "As Communists, our job is to help deepenand broaden the fight-back, and help sharpen up the critique of theTories, so that all the opposition parties are emboldened and/orpressured to pull the plug, and bring down the Harper Tories."

One of the key fight backs against the Harper Tories is over the warin Afghanistan. In January, Manley report essentially rubber-stampedthe extension of the Afghan mission to 2011. Yet public opinionremains staunchly opposed to this dirty conflict. For this reason weare think now is the critical time to begin mobilizing youth andstudents into the March 15th anti-war actions, and have prepared astatement to help mobilize our membership, friends and allies for thisimportant event.

I am reminded of the founding Manifesto of the YCL, which stated that"in any war the youth suffer the most, bear the brunt and are thefirst called upon." These words are still true today. This Feb. 25thmarked the 85th anniversary of the founding of our League and Ipersonally hope the CC, in accepting this report, will agree tore-issue a new updated version of our fighting history in pamphletform.

By June of 1924, the YCL was publishing an independent magazine,saying in its first issue that it pledged "to support the decisionsthat are made [in the Communist International] to the fullest extent…with no race hatred and nationalist feeling but with a truly workingclass sprit."

This is a challenge today: to defend and expand the democratic rightsof youth – a struggle dialectically connected to the class strugglefor socialism. We need to reflect this in all of our tactics andstrategies in mass work, and in this meeting we will be introducingthree documents that will both outline our policy and guide ouraction: on the International Day for the Elimination of Racism whichtalks about Islamophobia, the Toronto 18, and black-focused schools;on the occasion of the 100th anniversary of International Women's Day,which talks about the need to oppose sexism in all its forms; and aresolution in solidarity with the struggle of students across Canada.

The main task at hand in this meeting is to come up with solutions forthe production of our magazine. As a political tool, since 1924 theYCL has always had "press" in some form – be it the Young Worker,Advance, New Advance, Beacon, Champion, Jeunnesse, SYL News, YoungCommunist, Le Revolutionnaire, New Horizons, Jeunesse Militante, andnow Rebel Youth.

Many of these magazines were produced under very difficult conditions.

But the YCL-LJC's magazine has never been a static effort. It hasalways been something experimental, creative, and militant. We'vetried to make into an organizing tool for the YCL, and also aideological weapon that gets involved in the debates among left andprogressive youth forces, talks about what real youth are doing, andmakes a contribution.

For all these reasons, we hope our discussions today will help build amagazine that is exciting, important, necessary, and worth fightingfor!

SEE A REVOLUTION IN MOTION

Past YCL Statements

Join the struggle!

The Young Communist League of Canada is a marxist-leninist organization of youth who struggle for socialism and work to build a strong youth and student movement.

We are a multi-ethnic organization of young workers, employed and unemployed, young women and men. We work in movements for peace and democracy and against racism, sexism homophobia, national oppression and destruction of our environment.

We work in our unions and workplaces for better wages, and in our high schools for democratic and equal education, our colleges, universities and trade schools for accesibility. We bring forth these viewpoints through our League's agitational magazine, Rebel Youth.

We work together for a Canada without exploitation where the workers hold all political, social and economic power. We recognize that since youth are the future, we must play a vital role in fighting for socialism.